Favre to the Colts Actually Makes Sense

If it wasn't about the money, if it was simply about trying to get one more ring, Brett Favre would be wearing a horseshoe on his helmet right now. It's not Favre's fault, it's mostly Bill Polian's fault, but the Colts could have avoided an awful 0-2 start, and could have created the craziest media storm in NFL history, by opting with an old Brett Favre over an old Kerry Collins.

Is it too late? The Colts don't have a young quarterback worth trying out right now. Curtis Painter has shown everyone from Jim Irsay to Rex Ryan that he's not an NFL starting quarterback, and Kerry Collins has been nothing short of awful in his first two starts as the Colts QB. The Colts roster right now has a lot of veterans and young players who can win now, but an 0-3 start will be tough to come back from, even in the AFC South.

But if you bring in Brett Favre now, thing could start to get better. Unless Peyton Manning has a miraculous recovery the Colts are going to lose to the Steelers on Sunday and fall to 0-3, but after that the Colts schedule softens up. @ Tampa Bay, vs Kansas City, @ Cincinnati, @ New Orleans, @ Tennessee, vs Atlanta, vs Jacksonville, takes the Colts into their bye week. With Kerry Collins you're looking at best a 2-5 record in those games, taking the colts to 2-8 and eliminated from the playoffs before Thanksgiving. With Favre, 5-2, 4-3 is more likely, putting the Colts at .500 or close to it around Thanksgiving, and right in the middle of an AFC playoff race that should be wide open at the bottom.

Colts fans seem up to it, and they paid 750 million to build Lucas Oil Stadium and have filled it every game it's been open. Indiana sports fans have too much high school and college basketball, as well as a lot of college football to worry about, so much so that rooting for a losing team in a down year isn't something they're interested in doing. No teams fans are interested in the sort of futility that the Collins/Caldwell Colts have presented.

A lot of people have said Favre would be bad for the Colts and pointed out reasons like PR issues. What PR issues? Last I checked the Colts were one of the most well respected franchises in the NFL, and considered to be the single most Christian franchise in professional sports. If by "PR issues" people mean the hiring of Jim Tressel, then I guess the Raiders, Seahawks, Dolphins, Panthers, and every other franchise has some serious "PR issues" to deal with right now.

The other things I heard were money, better QB options, and locker room issues. As for money, the Colts gave Kerry Collins $4 million this year and still remained $8 million under. Favre can't expect 2010 salary numbers, so I'm pretty sure the Colts could have, and still can afford him. As for better QB options; Carson Palmer would require the trading of a second round pick, and David Garrard is still not better than an old Brett Favre. Finally, is Brett Favre really a bad locker room guy? I know Thomas Jones complained about him, but other than that I never really heard anything bad about him. I know that guys like Jared Allen loved him, and the Packers players always respected him.

Favre is the only hope in Indianapolis right now. It's the only hope for the 2011 Colts, the only hope for Jim Caldwell's job, and a move that could help Bill Polian restore some of the general managing respect that he has rapidly lost since the Colts Super Bowl XLI victory.

That is unless the Colts don't want to win this year, which may very well be a possibility. Drafting at the bottom of a decades worth of drafts have left the Colts with a thin roster of talent, and perhaps Polian understands that the only way the Colts win again in this Manning window is with a team made up of the talented veterans he already has, and top flight young talent. Similar to the Shanahan, Elway, Davis Broncos of the late 1990's.

What If The Colts Lose?

Today is game day for the Indianapolis Colts, the day that the team has been counting down to since halftime of week 16. This is also the biggest game the Indianapolis Colts have played since February 4th, 2007; the day Peyton and company got their first Super Bowl ring.

Few remember, but heading into the 2006 AFC playoffs, head coach Tony Dungy was on the hot seat. Had the Colts lost their first game against the Chiefs that playoffs, Dungy was surely going to be given the boot, or at least reconsidered as the head coach of this time.

Hindsight 20/20 we can now find that statement funny. Dungy has since solidified his legacy as not only a Hall of Fame head coach, but also as one of the icons in the history of the league; breaking perhaps the final color barrier left in American sports.

Caldwell is a different story. If the Colts lose to the Ravens today, the media, Colts fans, and probably a lot of players (Peyton?) will want to see heads roll. There was absolutely no doubt after the Colts win over the Jaguars who the best team in the NFL was, and there was no doubt the Colts were superior to the Ravens. Caldwell got his players healthy, has home field advantage, and has absolutely no reason not to advance to the AFC championship game.

In other words, if the Colts lose, the first head coach to start his career 14-0 may be looking for a new job somewhere.

The Indianapolis Colts should win today, but they should have beaten Pittsburgh in 2005 as well. This team is different, there's a different sense of focus; As someone who follows the Colts heavily , this is the most focused I've seen the team. Ever. That includes when Reggie Wayne came to camp wearing camouflage.

The Colts have the perfect balance of veterans and youth. They're healthy. They have the best football player of his generation. If the Colts don't win today, watch out. Things will have to chance.

It's Week 5 and the Colts Have Wrapped Up the AFC South

Before the season there were a lot of questions about the Indianapolis Colts. Could they rebound from losing future Hall of Fame receiver Marvin Harrison? How would they perform without Tony Dungy? Will a new defensive coordinator disrupt the good things the Colts D had going for them? Is it finally time for the Jaguars, Titans, and Texans to surpass the Colts?

Five weeks into the regular season, all of the questions have been answered.

Marvin Harrison, though talented, was a great receiver in the NFL thanks in large part to having Peyton Manning as his Quarterback. Sometimes in football a QB's weapons make him look better than he really is; Other times a Quarterback makes his weapons look better than they are. Thanks in large part to the explosive play thus far from D-3 WR Pierre Garcon, and BYU Rookie Austin Collie, Peyton has proven that not only can he do just fine in "Life After Marvin," he's probably better off. Most insiders were under the impression that Marvin has been on the decline since the Super Bowl run anyway.

Tony Dungy is in my opinion a Hall of Fame head coach. He commands respect, wins games, and has a calm demeanor that is extremely powerful in an NFL locker room. I don't think any other head coach would have been able to keep their team as calm and composed as Dungy kept the Colts in the 2006 AFC Championship game, where the team pulled off, perhaps the greatest comeback in NFL history.

That being said, the Colts are off to the same old Colts start that we had come to expect from 05-07. Also, don't forget that Dungy's job was on the line heading into the 06 playoffs, and he was considered a coach incapable of "winning the big one." I'm not trying to attack Tony Dungy here, but let's not forget what happened in Tampa the year after he was replaced. (If you need a refresher read the post below this one.)

As for the Colts defense? Well, after 2008 I think it was obvious that the team needed a change there. Outside of Week 2 in Miami (in weather that was similar to that of a Tropical Rain forest), the Colts defense has look adequate, playing without Marlin Jackson, Gary Brackett, Kelvin Hayden, oh and a certain injury prone Safety known as Bob Sanders. Simply put, the Colts D is the Colts D; though it has it's problems, it's good enough to win a championship.

As for the rest of the division? Through Week 5 their combined record in 4-11. They've pretty much handed the Colts the division. The Titans look confused, the Jaguars are lost, and the Texans are the same old Texans we've always known.

The Colts now control their AFC seeding. They can start focusing on getting that first round bye. This season they will host New England, New York Jets, and Denver in Indianapolis. The Colts also go to Baltimore, but Peyton has had lots of success there since 2002.

Anything less than a first round bye will be disappointing for this Indianapolis Colts team. But with Peyton gunning for his 4th MVP award, and the team positioning itself for Home Field Advantage for the first time since 2005, it's safe to say that the Colts will stay focused. Jim Caldwell has this team looking as focused as they've ever looked.

I predict at worst a 13-3 season, fully equipped with a first round bye, and home field throughout.